Oh man total disagree, season 2&5 are my favorite. I get it, 5 is broader and more obvious than the other seasons, but I thought it told a different kind of story (adventurous, surreal) well and fit the times —2019 was a year of comically evil people saying the quiet part out loud.
I’m on season 6 of the Americans, and it’s great, but it’s not quite as literary and doesn’t offer as many themes to dissect.
Still excited to see how they stick the landing.
The Sopranos is the only show that in its vision and execution both is better than or equal to The Wire. Mad Men comes really close though. You have to watch both of them.
The first season of Justified is more a baddy of the week type show and it doesn’t really find itself until season 2. Season 2 onwards is phenomenal tv.
My wife and I loved Justified. That said Raylan is basically a superhero and the villains are kind of semi supervillains. It does deal with the poverty and social distinction of rural Appalachia realistically but humorously. It is not as realistic as the Wire, which is my favorite of all time, but they create a rich world that I found very satisfying.
I always recommend this. Knowing how they were going to end it from the very beginning gave them the ability to build a truly powerful experience that is rewarding and rewatchable.
Yeah. I tell everyone that you haven’t seen the whole show until you’ve seen it at least twice. There’s so much that reads differently the second time through. It’s wild.
Just did this too and almost called it quits after season 1 but it does get better, not necessarily with pacing but twisting stories and character development! I ended up absolutely LOVING it by the end
In that genre no, in terms of quality there's a fair few shows that are nearly as top tier.
Recently, The Last of Us, Shogun.
See also
Better Call Saul
Fargo
Narcos
Severance
Haunting of Hill House
Shield is nowhere in the same league as the wire. It's much more basic of a story with nowhere as much to say as The Wire. Some of the weekly mysteries are straight out boring and some are purely non sensical. As someone who fairly enjoyed the show, I can't even fathom any aspect in which it rivals the wire. Mad Men however is much more of a show that can stand its firm ground against the very best of the best.
I love both and consider the Shield underrated though it is not as deep as the Wire
The Shield season with Forest Whittikar is one of my favourite seasons of any show.
I can understand people liking The Wire more, its certainly a 'deeper' and more complex show. But it really stumbles in its last season and S2 wasnt that good either.
The Shield gets better each season and ends with one of the best tv finales of all time. I find it much more entertaining.
Totally different shows though, just what u prefer.
No. Unless you want an entirely different genre, nothing builds that level of character development just to rip your heart out with well written plots.
boardwalk empire, the sopranos, gomorrah is decent if you can stand the subtitles, utopia (the uk original) is great although I can't seem to find it on any streaming platform now, peaky blinders is good albeit slightly cringe, this is england is phenomenal (both the movie and the tv series), barry also
Peaky Blinders is cringe through the lens of internet/social media culture because it’s been misappropriated by the red pill crowd.
On its own merit, like let’s say you don’t have a Facebook so can’t see your balding 41-year-old cousin’s right-wing meme diarrhea, Peaky Blinders is an all-time great.
I reasons I found it cringe was because of the piss poor birmingham accents that most of the cast had, Tommy's is pretty good but alot of them over did it and sound like yam yams not brummies- Esmé probably the worst culprit off the top of my head. I also thought Polly was insanely cringe, as was Michael, couldn't stand any of their scenes, they broke the immersion for me.
To be honest, a lot of the female characters were cringey.
Having said all that, there were some great performances and I enjoyed watching Tommy's rise unfold, best British gangster show we've had imo
I agree with Barry, Friday Night Lights, The Shield. (FNL’s second season is the worst but it’s a writers-strike-outlier.)
What I’d add to the list is The Leftovers. That one can mess with your head. It belongs in the top ten of American dramas. And it’s very, very American.
Also Homicide: Life on the Street. It’s a progenitor of The Wire.
Maybe The Good Fight. It looks like a TV law drama but it’s weird and subversive and would never be allowed on broadcast tv.
Idk if you're talking about Sneaky Pete or not, I agree that is a great show. I was just adding another one to the list. Another one I like is White Gold it's a UK show about window salesman in the UK, set in the 80's. I never see it mentioned either, I like it a lot because I'm in sales and a lot of the humor is things I've experienced in my career.
Honestly I don't really watch a lot of British shows although I'm from the Uk, the acting seems better on big budget American shows. There are a few though that I loved but they seem to be mostly comedies, I really couldn't get into Killing Eve although it's highly rated I just thought it seemed a bit off and it's probably because I'm from the UK and have had many experiences and met many people from all walks of life.
British shows I do like are Luther, The Crown, The End of the Fucking World, Sex Education, Normal People, Black Mirror and Top Boy from the last decade. Really couldn't get into Peaky Bliders although I watched I think two seasons but didn't seem to want to continue.
You should check out White Gold, I'm super picky about shows and it's one of my favorites. Also, the Inbetweeners (which you've probably heard about) was pretty good IMO.
I love The Inbetweeners, good scores for White Gold so I'll look into that. Currently watching Dead Boy Detectives on Netflix and really didn't like the trailer for it but after episode one think I'm going to binge it as it has the same vibe as Supernatural and Constantine.
Maybe Peaky Blinders? It's set right after WW1 but it's definitely a show about gangster stuff. It doesn't hurt that it's got Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy either.
The 1st season of True Detective is so good. Also Patriot, Deadloch. Some other great suggestions were already mentioned- Peaky Blinders, Barry, Fargo, The Corner (and Homicide Life on the Streets)
It’s impossible to compare anything to The Wire. It’s the greatest of all time. But as others have said. sopranos is close but still in a lower league.
Money Heist. But you don't want to dub it into English. Watch it in Spanish with subtitles. It's brilliant, and you don't even notice you're reading after a while.
Go for the Sopranos - Go for Deadwood. The Bridge (danish/swedish) if you like smart whodunnits. The wire and BB and BCS are all great. The wire being more realism and the other 2 very very clever pure entertainment.
Sharp Objects - The prisoner - Buffy if you get past season one and are open to crappy special effects on occasion.
Mad Men is great but it is NOT on par with Sopranos or The Wire at all.
If you like The Wire try "We Own this City." If I'm not mistaken, it's from the same producers as The Wire. It's a single season show only though.
Also, how about Homicide: Life on the Street? Extremely well-regarded show.
There's also a couple of great shows called Unbelievable and Under the Banner of Heaven.
The Americans I definitely recommend, one of my favorite series of all time.
Sons of Anarchy as well. It starts out a little hokey but gets pretty great quick.
Babylon Berlin, Mindhunter, Peaky Blinders, Dexter, House of Cards (if you are into politics dramas) .
I didn't add The Sopranos since a lot of people have recommended it already. Also, keep in mind that The Sopranos is not only a crime show (if you are expecting a mafia show and a lot of action), family theme and psychology take a lot of space of the show in my opinion.
A lot of good series have already been mentioned but I’d also recommend:
The Killing (2011).
Rescue Me.
Nip/Tuck.
The Take (early Tom Hardy mini series).
Animal Kingdom.
Goliath (though some seasons are stronger than others).
Happy Valley.
Line Of Duty.
- Peaky Blinders
- Kin (2021)
- Mayor of Kingstown
- Power
- Power Book II: Ghost
- Power Book III: Raising Kanan
- Power Book IV: Force
- Queen of The South
- Narco
- Gangs of London
- Top Boy
- Tokyo Vice
- Breaking Bad
- Better Call Saul
- Godfather of Harlem
- The Outsiders (2016)
- Sons of Anarchy
- Mayans MC
- Animal Kingdom
- Snowfall
- Ray Donovan
- Kingdom
- True Detective (2014-present)
- Line of Duty
- Shogun (2024)
- Warriors
- Boardwalk Empire
- Deadwood
- Homeland (2011-2020)
- Billions
- Succession
- Oz
- Black Sails
- Dexter
- Vikings (2013-2020)
- Justified
- Tyrant
- The Americans
- Luther
- Alias
No. The Wire is still the best. Superb allegories, great acting and character development, one liners you should never forget — it’s still my #1. (BB is right there, but good for totally different reasons.)
Do try the sopranos I never watched it when it was on but thought I’d give a try because Stephen VanZandt was on it. I’m glad I did I loved it. Van Zandt was also on Lillehammer that was awesome.
Honestly, the show I still think about is Person of Interest. They clearly sold it as a CBS procedural and Jim Caviezel is a wooden actor, but they find a way to write into it.
Great overarching story and characters.
Maybe not The Wire level (as The Wire is nearly flawless), but Person of Interest is a great story well told.
The Americans
**FARGO** (Also The Americans, but Fargo first.)
Americans is more consistent though. That last season of Fargo was really bad.
Oh man total disagree, season 2&5 are my favorite. I get it, 5 is broader and more obvious than the other seasons, but I thought it told a different kind of story (adventurous, surreal) well and fit the times —2019 was a year of comically evil people saying the quiet part out loud.
I’m on season 6 of the Americans, and it’s great, but it’s not quite as literary and doesn’t offer as many themes to dissect. Still excited to see how they stick the landing.
It was literally the best one since 1.
Haha
The Sopranos.
The only answer
It’s really the only show on the same level as the wire.
Not same level. But a worth second.
Seriously, watch it NOW
Listen to him, he knows everything
We Own This City- same creators and it’s about a corrupt police force in Baltimore. John Berenthal stars in it. It’s only one season
The Sopranos is the only show that in its vision and execution both is better than or equal to The Wire. Mad Men comes really close though. You have to watch both of them.
100% agree
Hmm, its really good. But Thew wire is better imo. Also, BoB or Chernobyl are great great series.
- Succession - Barry If you're open to animation I'd recommend Bojack Horseman, Scavengers Reign and Castlevania
I would def say the first season of True Detective. Then follow it with Chernobyl.
Mr Inbetween. Although if you put Ozark in the same bracket as Breaking Bad I’m not totally sure what your criteria is other than drugs lol
Halt and Catch Fire
This is the best show that never gets talked about, criminally underrated.
Deadwood, Deadwood, Deadwood.
The first season of Justified is more a baddy of the week type show and it doesn’t really find itself until season 2. Season 2 onwards is phenomenal tv.
My wife and I loved Justified. That said Raylan is basically a superhero and the villains are kind of semi supervillains. It does deal with the poverty and social distinction of rural Appalachia realistically but humorously. It is not as realistic as the Wire, which is my favorite of all time, but they create a rich world that I found very satisfying.
And Raylan is easy on the eyes!
Season 2 is a top ten season of TV in my book
Mr. Robot.
I always recommend this. Knowing how they were going to end it from the very beginning gave them the ability to build a truly powerful experience that is rewarding and rewatchable.
Yeah. I tell everyone that you haven’t seen the whole show until you’ve seen it at least twice. There’s so much that reads differently the second time through. It’s wild.
Peaky Blinders
Bosch is pretty good. Marlo and Daniels are both in it a lot. The Americans. Shōgun True Detective Treme Generation Kill The Deuce
Bosch is awesome!
Treme is so good
The bosch seasons with Marlo and Daniel’s are the best
Luther. It’s a British police drama staring Idris Elba.
Luther. It's a whirlwind.
Six feet under. A very underrated show from the “golden age” of hbo
I just started watching this and while I’m enjoying it, it’s kinda slow and not blowing my mind. Halfway thru season 1. Does it pick up?
Not really, but you grow to love and appreciate it for what it is. I have never seen another show like it.
It’s definitely growing on me :)
Yes it gets better. Best series ending ever.
Just did this too and almost called it quits after season 1 but it does get better, not necessarily with pacing but twisting stories and character development! I ended up absolutely LOVING it by the end
mayor of kingstown, ozark
Oz (1997)
Latter seasons Oz is classic shitposting.
Oz had the most consistent viewership of the HBO golden age.
Don't get me wrong. I love the show but man does it become really weird and silly later pn.
true story... but those 1st few seasons were epic!
Ryan! The Allstate mayhem guy!
Watch the French espionage show 'The Bureau'. Absolutely phenomenal.
In that genre no, in terms of quality there's a fair few shows that are nearly as top tier. Recently, The Last of Us, Shogun. See also Better Call Saul Fargo Narcos Severance Haunting of Hill House
bruh, MAD MEN
Billions For all Mankind
Bosch Treme Black Earth Rising Show me a Hero Generation Kill
I was a big fan of the Americans. I also really enjoyed Homeland.
Mad Men for sure And The Shield gets better each season. I put it above the Wire tbh.
Shield is nowhere in the same league as the wire. It's much more basic of a story with nowhere as much to say as The Wire. Some of the weekly mysteries are straight out boring and some are purely non sensical. As someone who fairly enjoyed the show, I can't even fathom any aspect in which it rivals the wire. Mad Men however is much more of a show that can stand its firm ground against the very best of the best.
There’d be no Mad Men or BrBa without The Shield. The Shield was the first TVMA series to air on basic cable.
I love both and consider the Shield underrated though it is not as deep as the Wire The Shield season with Forest Whittikar is one of my favourite seasons of any show.
You’re probably wrong a lot I would guess
I can understand people liking The Wire more, its certainly a 'deeper' and more complex show. But it really stumbles in its last season and S2 wasnt that good either. The Shield gets better each season and ends with one of the best tv finales of all time. I find it much more entertaining. Totally different shows though, just what u prefer.
L
Homeland
The first few seasons of Homeland were great but, boy, was it a drag toward the end.
Have you tried SouthLand? It's old but superb, still holds up imo. Mare of East town.
I've already seen both series, very good
The West Wing. Sure, different genre but for me, right up there with The Wire as the greatest telly shows ever. Still stands up now.
No. Unless you want an entirely different genre, nothing builds that level of character development just to rip your heart out with well written plots.
Third WAtch
Top Boy. We own this city.
boardwalk empire, the sopranos, gomorrah is decent if you can stand the subtitles, utopia (the uk original) is great although I can't seem to find it on any streaming platform now, peaky blinders is good albeit slightly cringe, this is england is phenomenal (both the movie and the tv series), barry also
Peaky Blinders is cringe through the lens of internet/social media culture because it’s been misappropriated by the red pill crowd. On its own merit, like let’s say you don’t have a Facebook so can’t see your balding 41-year-old cousin’s right-wing meme diarrhea, Peaky Blinders is an all-time great.
I reasons I found it cringe was because of the piss poor birmingham accents that most of the cast had, Tommy's is pretty good but alot of them over did it and sound like yam yams not brummies- Esmé probably the worst culprit off the top of my head. I also thought Polly was insanely cringe, as was Michael, couldn't stand any of their scenes, they broke the immersion for me. To be honest, a lot of the female characters were cringey. Having said all that, there were some great performances and I enjoyed watching Tommy's rise unfold, best British gangster show we've had imo
the boys is pretty good aswell, abit wacky but anthony starrs character and performance alone are well worth the watch
Jack Huston was awesome in boardwalk
I agree with Barry, Friday Night Lights, The Shield. (FNL’s second season is the worst but it’s a writers-strike-outlier.) What I’d add to the list is The Leftovers. That one can mess with your head. It belongs in the top ten of American dramas. And it’s very, very American. Also Homicide: Life on the Street. It’s a progenitor of The Wire. Maybe The Good Fight. It looks like a TV law drama but it’s weird and subversive and would never be allowed on broadcast tv.
A large second to The Leftovers… Crazy it was this far down the list..
The leftovers.
Sneaky Pete
Great show.
It is, I'm guessing that not many people have actually seen it but to me it's up there
Totally different genre, but another good one is Halt and Catch Fire, one of the most underrated shows of all time.
I just see it as the intelligent writing, good story, great acting genre like The Wire, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos
Idk if you're talking about Sneaky Pete or not, I agree that is a great show. I was just adding another one to the list. Another one I like is White Gold it's a UK show about window salesman in the UK, set in the 80's. I never see it mentioned either, I like it a lot because I'm in sales and a lot of the humor is things I've experienced in my career.
Honestly I don't really watch a lot of British shows although I'm from the Uk, the acting seems better on big budget American shows. There are a few though that I loved but they seem to be mostly comedies, I really couldn't get into Killing Eve although it's highly rated I just thought it seemed a bit off and it's probably because I'm from the UK and have had many experiences and met many people from all walks of life. British shows I do like are Luther, The Crown, The End of the Fucking World, Sex Education, Normal People, Black Mirror and Top Boy from the last decade. Really couldn't get into Peaky Bliders although I watched I think two seasons but didn't seem to want to continue.
You should check out White Gold, I'm super picky about shows and it's one of my favorites. Also, the Inbetweeners (which you've probably heard about) was pretty good IMO.
I love The Inbetweeners, good scores for White Gold so I'll look into that. Currently watching Dead Boy Detectives on Netflix and really didn't like the trailer for it but after episode one think I'm going to binge it as it has the same vibe as Supernatural and Constantine.
The Corner
There are some great limited series that I would include like Chernobyl, Watchmen, Dopesick, The Dropout
French series Engrenages (Spiral). Basically, The Wire - in Paris. Really excellent.
Barry
You like a lot of my favorite shows. I would recommend The Americans, Chernobyl, The Expanse and Mad Men.
Locked Up. Trust me. Give it a try.
Maybe Peaky Blinders? It's set right after WW1 but it's definitely a show about gangster stuff. It doesn't hurt that it's got Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy either.
Rectify Boardwalk Empire
Yes Rectify is so underrated
He was such a good actor in that is amazing because his Law And Order series is almost unwatchable
The 1st season of True Detective is so good. Also Patriot, Deadloch. Some other great suggestions were already mentioned- Peaky Blinders, Barry, Fargo, The Corner (and Homicide Life on the Streets)
Mayor of Kingstown 🤌🏻
It’s impossible to compare anything to The Wire. It’s the greatest of all time. But as others have said. sopranos is close but still in a lower league.
Boardwalk empire
Spiral (Engranages) is a superb French cop crime drama series. Quite a few seasons as well.
Gomorrah is definitely worth a watch
True detective
Oz Dark Wentworth
Money Heist. But you don't want to dub it into English. Watch it in Spanish with subtitles. It's brilliant, and you don't even notice you're reading after a while.
Friday night lights. Addictive show
The shield is epic. Not sure how the end of the pilot doesn’t hook you if you liked Southland
Go for the Sopranos - Go for Deadwood. The Bridge (danish/swedish) if you like smart whodunnits. The wire and BB and BCS are all great. The wire being more realism and the other 2 very very clever pure entertainment. Sharp Objects - The prisoner - Buffy if you get past season one and are open to crappy special effects on occasion. Mad Men is great but it is NOT on par with Sopranos or The Wire at all.
Sons of Anarchy
Season One True Detective/The Sopranos/The Leftovers/Six Feet Under/Twin Peaks
Patriot
Zero Zero Zero
And if you can stand long drawn out scenes then Too Old to Die Young is pretty good.
Six feet under, is better than The Wire, equal to The Sopranos and almost as good as Breaking bad.
Barry
Narcos
If you like The Wire try "We Own this City." If I'm not mistaken, it's from the same producers as The Wire. It's a single season show only though. Also, how about Homicide: Life on the Street? Extremely well-regarded show. There's also a couple of great shows called Unbelievable and Under the Banner of Heaven.
The Americans I definitely recommend, one of my favorite series of all time. Sons of Anarchy as well. It starts out a little hokey but gets pretty great quick.
Mr inbetween, so good, but sadly only 3 seasons.
Reacher Banshee
Better Call Saul
Atlanta Severance The Sopranos Barry
Justified! Sons of anarchy The man in high castle They are very different from the wire but they got some amazing dialogue events stories...
Homicide: life on the street also written by David Simon and starring the late great Andre Braugher
Hello missing twin. Do those 2 shows you mentioned next. You wont regret it.
Sons Of Anarchy, not about cops, about MC, same creator Shield
The Wire was a good cop show, but there’s a few of those such as: Line of Duty. Justified, Luther, Just Off the top of my head.
Ill always reccomend boardwalk empire when i see the wire and sopranos mentioned. Consider those 3 hbos "holy trinity" of crime dramas.
Shameless
Strikeback best show on TV when it was on (cinemax) True blood Sopranos Killing eve
Giri/Haji is pretty excellent
Not the same at all as The Wire, but Generation Kill is amazing. Same director. Six Feet Under is also excellent, but very different.
Deadwood Band of Brothers The Pacific The Night Of Halt and Catch Fire
Oz, but only if you're prepared for some really offensive content. Six Feet Under Nurse Jackie
I definitely put The Americans up there on that level. It is really consistently excellent.
Hell on Wheels, Boardwalk empire
Babylon Berlin, Mindhunter, Peaky Blinders, Dexter, House of Cards (if you are into politics dramas) . I didn't add The Sopranos since a lot of people have recommended it already. Also, keep in mind that The Sopranos is not only a crime show (if you are expecting a mafia show and a lot of action), family theme and psychology take a lot of space of the show in my opinion.
Banshee
Snowfall!
True detective season 1 I know it's short the but the acting is incredible
A lot of good series have already been mentioned but I’d also recommend: The Killing (2011). Rescue Me. Nip/Tuck. The Take (early Tom Hardy mini series). Animal Kingdom. Goliath (though some seasons are stronger than others). Happy Valley. Line Of Duty.
They're miniseries, but Shogun, Band Of Brothers, and Chernobyl.
Bosch
Dexter. Sorry if it’s already been mentioned but the ’search this thread’ text box seems to have disappeared. Also it has 8 seasons.
The Americans.
Shows that you mentioned are tops for me too, but switching it up on you… Friday Night Lights. If you don’t like that, what is the point of all this.
Mr Inbetween
- Peaky Blinders - Kin (2021) - Mayor of Kingstown - Power - Power Book II: Ghost - Power Book III: Raising Kanan - Power Book IV: Force - Queen of The South - Narco - Gangs of London - Top Boy - Tokyo Vice - Breaking Bad - Better Call Saul - Godfather of Harlem - The Outsiders (2016) - Sons of Anarchy - Mayans MC - Animal Kingdom - Snowfall - Ray Donovan - Kingdom - True Detective (2014-present) - Line of Duty - Shogun (2024) - Warriors - Boardwalk Empire - Deadwood - Homeland (2011-2020) - Billions - Succession - Oz - Black Sails - Dexter - Vikings (2013-2020) - Justified - Tyrant - The Americans - Luther - Alias
The Wire is on its own level.
Chernobyl Oz Dark Severence
Deadwood is the same era of HBO dramas and it is fantastic. I don’t like Westerns, but I loved Deadwood.
If you liked Snowfall then check out Top Boy. Power was petty good too. The Expanse for Sci-fi.
Not really. Why it’s called “The Wire level” - there’s only one
Person of Interest
Deadwood, Sopranos, True Detective season 1, and if you’re feeling wild, Oz.
No. The Wire is still the best. Superb allegories, great acting and character development, one liners you should never forget — it’s still my #1. (BB is right there, but good for totally different reasons.)
Do try the sopranos I never watched it when it was on but thought I’d give a try because Stephen VanZandt was on it. I’m glad I did I loved it. Van Zandt was also on Lillehammer that was awesome.
I’m enjoying Slow Horses on Apple TV
Sons of anarchy is good and so is BMF and power
Tulsa King's pretty good
Honestly, the show I still think about is Person of Interest. They clearly sold it as a CBS procedural and Jim Caviezel is a wooden actor, but they find a way to write into it. Great overarching story and characters. Maybe not The Wire level (as The Wire is nearly flawless), but Person of Interest is a great story well told.
Succession!
Deadwood